Sun and Moon
by TLoZTFH
Summary: Imagine that your entire life, you only knew one thing; a fight. Imagine that your entire life, you only knew one person; the one you fought. And imagine that your entire life, you withheld your feelings for that person, because you knew you must fight them. Now, imagine that this fight ends, and you are both given a chance at freedom and love in a world you never knew. T for now.
1. Prologue

The Rondo of the Sun and the Moon

They go by many different names; Sol and Luna, in Latin; Helios and Selene, in Greek, and so many others.

In any case, we know them as Sun and Moon.

The sun and the moon are two things most people think seem juxtaposed; complete opposites, even. The mere sight of the two together in the sky at the same time seems to strike humans with awe.

The belief that the two are opposites is not unfounded; one appears only during the day, the other, only at night. The thought is natural. In some folklore, they are depicted as even so much as warring entities. The battle has never truly been decided, as eventually, day always gives way to night, and night to day, ad infinitum.

_Sun to moon. Moon to sun. The dance is endless._

Cycling through our sky in an endless loop, most of us never pause and ask ourselves just why the moon and sun must fight with each other. We accept it as natural, as scientific fact explains away, as is so often done in science, something that cannot truly be explained.

Have you ever looked up at the sun on a clear day, forcing your eyes to stare into the bright sphere illuminating our planet? Have you ever wondered just what makes the sun shine so brightly and burn so hot?

Have you ever gazed at the moon during a clear night, the countless tiny dots of light that are stars surrounding the silvery-white disk, and asked yourself why, just why, does the moon rise unfailingly every night, relieving the sun to bathe the earth in a more calming light?

I wouldn't blame you if you haven't. Most people don't, and that's fine; however, if on the off chance you remember this passage in the future, and it is a clear day, or night, I ask you to do one thing for me; look up at the sky and ask those questions. Let all the curiosity, the desire to know the _un_known, wash over you, encompassing you. And when you do this, you might, even if only a little, understand the endless dance of Sol and Luna; the Rondo of the Sun and the Moon.

XxxX

_Sun._

She and her opponent circled cautiously, never faltering a single step, never looking from each other's eyes. Their weapons were ready, anxious, perhaps, for the dance to continue at any time, as it undoubtedly would.

It was a well-worn, routine dance that had started at the beginning and would only stop at the end. They paused every so often, but the dance never ceased.

She never questioned it, any of it; the dance, its reason, the sword in her hand, her opponent. She had never had any reason to. She merely knew that their dance must continue.

And so, there was nothing else. Nothing existed, except for the dance, and her partner.

_Moon._

It had never been a matter that needed questioning; as long as she could remember, she had danced with the other, her revolver against the other's blade. She could not think of anything other than the dance, and could never fathom that it might end one day.

Never had a careless, unnecessary word been spoken between the two; only conversation about their dance, and compliments on the skill of their partner. Nothing more was said. Nothing more was needed.

Maybe the other knew, maybe she didn't; the dance was not the only thing in existence.

She had never forgotten, but she had never learned the knowledge; it was just there, undeniable, yet, at the same time, unable to be proved.

Somehow, she knew that she could end the dance, if she so wished. She could end it at any time, and yet she was unable to see what lay beyond the dance.

So they danced.

XxxX

It was ever so long ago when the dance had begun, and yet, it seemed like it had only just started.

Pink hair spilled down her shoulders, framing an elegant, composed face. Two azure eyes kept their gaze firmly on her partner, never wandering. A firm hand kept her grip on the blade, as she readied herself for the dance to resume at any time.

They knew almost nothing except the dance, each other's names being the extent of it.

She was Megurine Luka.

Her partner was a teal-haired, revolver wielding woman called Hatsune Miku.

Sometimes, she thought what she felt for her partner was love; other times, she thought it was hate. She knew not what the feeling was, or why she felt it. She merely knew that it attracted her to the other like a magnet, but she could not do anything but dance with the other, and so she did that.

It was the same thing, for so long, that when it finally happened, she could not surmise what she was supposed to do;

A single shot rang out, and she felt it; the pain, so commonly felt during the dance. And yet, this time it was different.

Gasping for breath, she felt her chest, a scarlet flower slowly blossoming from it.

At the exact same time, her blade had pierced the other's chest, causing her reaction to be much the same as her own.

However, something was wrong. This time, the scarlet flowers coming from their wounds would not stop spreading.

It hurt, the realization;

As they lay, peaceful, on the ground they had danced on for so long, they gazed into each other's eyes.

It was slow to come, and yet it was undeniable, the realization;

The dance was ending.

They both realized it at the same time, and yet, she could feel no sadness. In fact, she felt an odd happiness she'd never thought she'd feel at the end of it all.

Alongside this realization, this world-shattering revelation, came another.

"Luka…"

"Miku…"

There was a long silence, and as their vision slowly began to fade, they uttered the same phrase from their now bloodied lips;

"I love you."


	2. Chapter 1

_The Rondo of the Sun and Moon_

_Chapter 1_

Gumi sighed in exasperation, sliding down the wall of the labyrinth, her torch stuck into one of the many, odd, empty brackets lining the walls. It had been about four months since she and her companions had discovered an ancient temple deep in the forest. After much thought, they had all decided to explore.

_The first of many mistakes,_ the green-haired knight thought wryly, her stomach rumbling loudly, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in the past ten hours.

She was surprised, really; it had only taken one misstep, one trip, and she had quickly and easily become separated from Kaito and Meiko.

It wasn't often that she felt resentment or frustration at Empress Masuda Lily, ruler of the land of Crypton, but she was, at the moment, thinking, _Why, Masuda-sama?! Why did you send someone as clumsy as me into a place like this?!_

Standing after a short rest, Gumi sighed once more, retrieving her torch. The temple was bigger than they had initially thought, going underground into a labyrinth that extended, she presumed, about two kilometers, at the very least.

They had met nothing hostile so far, but having had experience in exploring such places, Gumi was keeping one hand on her blade, sure that some monstrous entity would jump out at her sooner or later.

She had only been walking for about an hour when the path she was following led into a dead end, prompting her to turn around. And she was about to do just that, when a sudden, nagging feeling in her stomach came out of nowhere, begging her to inspect the wall more closely.

Going by her gut, Gumi walked closer to the wall, and almost instantly, could make out a faint, rectangular outline, about the size of an average doorframe, carved into the wall.

_A… door?_

Gumi placed her hand against the wall on the inside of the rectangle, pushing lightly.

Nothing.

"Hmm," she hummed aloud, tapping her fist against the wall absentmindedly.

_Nok. Nok._

Gumi stopped instantly, a smile slowly creeping over her face at the realization that she had, indeed, found a door. Or, at least, a filled in doorframe.

Heaving a deep breath, Gumi hesitated for a moment, then threw her entire weight against the wall.

With a loud crash, the slab of stone fell over, and Gumi found herself in a place that made her gape with awe.

It was a stone courtyard, crumbling pillars supporting a ceiling with a giant, circular skylight in the middle. The walls, the floor, and ceiling were all covered in an ancient language she recognized as Soluscript, the language of the ancients, occasionally interjected by symbols representing the sun and the moon.

And still, none of this was what made her gape.

The entire room was covered in stains of now-orange dried blood. It was everywhere; on the walls, on the pillars…

And in the center of it all, two women, dressed in black, lay, fast asleep.

One had pink hair, the other teal. They were laying facing each other, their lips pressed together, even in their sleep.

It wasn't until she regained her senses, circling around the room, that she noticed something;

Underneath the two was the largest bloodstain of all, and they both appeared to have wounds in their heart; one, a tiny, almost undetectable hole in her chest, the other, a sword pierced straight through. The teal-haired woman held something Gumi had never seen before; some sort of metal tube with a handle, obviously meant to be used as a weapon in some way.

Gumi knew now, by their position, wounds, and weapons; these women weren't just sleeping, they were _dead._

"Oh..." She breathed, kneeling down to inspect the bizarre scene more closely.

It appeared that they had killed each other, but then, why would they be sharing a kiss? And, from the looks of the room and the bloodstains, the place had to be very, very old, so why were the two bodies not skeletons by now?

And then, she noticed something even stranger; on the backs of their hands were the symbols for the sun and moon that were carved all over the room. The pink-haired woman's hands had the sun, while the teal-haired woman's were the moon.

Gumi knew many a folk tale about the sun and moon, but nothing even remotely similar to this. Something about this was off…

"Oh my god…" Gumi uttered, noticing that the two women had scars all over their bodies, like they'd been mortally wounded many, many other times, yet had somehow survived.

She tentatively reached down, intending to take the metal tube thing from the dead teal-haired woman so she could inspect it, possibly figuring out what it was and how it worked.

Her hand had barely brushed the woman's when a loud crash sounded behind her, and she looked, to see none other than Kaito and Meiko, panting heavily as they stood over a slab of stone that had obviously come out of the wall. She stood quickly, suddenly feeling guilty for some reason.

"Gumi-chan?" Meiko asked, then heaved a massive sigh of relief, walking over to her green-haired friend and hugging her tightly. "Oh, god, Gumi-chan, we thought we'd lost you!"

"You _did,_" Gumi pointed out, returning the hug. They stayed like that for a few seconds, then broke apart.

"What the hell is this place?" Kaito thought aloud, running his hand down one of the walls.

"I don't know, but this…" Gumi gestured at the two dead women. "…_scene_ has to have something to do with it."

"My god…" Meiko breathed, noticing their death wounds. "What in the hell happened to them?"

"I don't know," Gumi repeated, kneeling down beside the brunette and Kaito, who was now by their sides as well.

"What's that she's holding?" The blue-haired man questioned, reaching to inspect the metal tube.

"It could be a trap. Don't touch it," Meiko said. Kaito rolled his eyes.

"That's an odd-looking trap, Meiko. Look, it's fi…"

The instant he took the metal tube from the teal-haired woman's hands, the room seemed to shake. They waited in silence for a few seconds, feeling like the entire temple was holding in a breath.

And then, not so slowly, that breath was let out.

"_Hhh!" _The teal-haired woman and the pink-haired woman gasped at the same time, the pink one instinctively pulling her blade from the teal one's chest. Their eyes fluttered open, and they sat up, their wounds rapidly closing.

All the while, Gumi, Meiko, and Kaito were staring with looks on their faces that clearly read, _What the hell?_

"Miku?" The pink-haired one asked slowly, her voice sounding rough, like it hadn't been used in a long time.

"Luka," the teal-haired woman said in reply, her voice just as rough. "What happened…?"

"I think…" The first squinted, as if trying to remember something she'd known but forgotten long ago. Then, her eyes widened in shock. "…The dance."

"Ah, yes…" The second nodded. "I believe… it finally ended."

"But if so, why are we still here?" The first asked. The second closed her eyes.

"Perhaps…" She whispered, leaning into the other. "We have finally been set free from our dance."

"How?" The first tilted her head. The second opened her eyes, looking up at her.

"I think…" She murmured. "That perhaps we aren't meant to know."

The two were startled by someone other than them clearing their throat, and they both instantly whipped their heads around to look in the direction it came from.

Gumi, Meiko and Kaito stared at the two women, more confused than they'd ever been in their entire lives.

"…Miku?" The pink-haired one began.

"Yes?"

"What are those?"

"…I don't know. They look kind of like us, don't they?"

The first clicked her tongue. "I guess. Maybe we're somehow similar."

Meiko had never been the most levelheaded of people, and she could only stand being talked about like she was some kind of animal for so long.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" She asked bluntly. "Do you seriously expect us to believe you've never seen any other people before?"

There was a very long pause.

"…What's a people?" They asked simultaneously.

XxxX

"…So, let me get this straight," Meiko began, looking from Luka to Miku. "This… 'dance' of yours, you basically fought each other for a very long time?"

Nods.

"And you don't remember anything but participating in this 'dance?'"

More nods.

"…" Meiko sighed, unsure of where to even begin.

"…I think," Gumi spoke up. "That maybe you two have amnesia."

"Amn- amna-what?" Miku tilted her head.

"It's…" Gumi thought about how to explain it. "…A type of sickness that causes you to lose your memory of your past. Maybe after you lost your memory, someone left you in here together. Or, maybe, something tragic happened to you, and you came here and chose to forget. Either way, you don't know anything about your past… Kaito, what are you doing?"

"Reading," Kaito responded, looking at the symbols on the floor in front of him. "You know… this describes the War of Luna and Sol."

"That's practically from the beginning of recorded history," Meiko shot back. "This temple's old, but I don't think it's _three thousand years_ old."

"Wait!" Kaito held his hand up, stopping her from further criticism. "_The general of the Night and the general of the Day fought, their appearances as radically different from each other as their weapons. Forever, Moon and Sun were trapped, and began to clash, an endless blur of…_" Kaito's eyes widened, and he looked from Luka and Miku to the writing.

"_…Blue and pink._"

"…Bullshit…" Meiko breathed, looking at the two women in an almost reverent fashion. "…These two are the generals of Luna and Sol?"

"It would seem so. It even says their names; Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka."

There was a very, very long and uncomfortable silence, before Gumi spoke up.

"Well, you two, you should be proud of yourselves; you're officially the oldest living people on the planet," she said, cracking half a smile.

"So… what do we do?" Luka asked unsurely. The three knights looked at each other.

"…Well, I guess we can't just leave you here, after all. We'll try and teach you about what it's like living in this time, and in return, you should try and remember your pasts…"

XxxX

"We're back!" Gumi called loudly, walking out into the forest air and inwardly praising God that they had found their way out.

"GUUUUUUUUUMIIIIIIIIIIIIII-SAAAMAAAAA!"

Gumi had no time to react before a red cannonball collided with her, and she was met with the excited and worried face of her apprentice, Furukawa Miki.

"Gumi-sama, where were you?! We were all so worried and scared and…" Gumi raised her hand, placing a gloved finger on Miki's lips.

"I'll tell you about it later, Miki. Be patient for now, and please call for some food to be brought to us."

Miki looked slightly disappointed, but she mumbled a, "Yes, Gumi-sama," standing to do what she was told.

Gumi sighed, seeing her apprentice's disheartenment, and laid a hand on her head, causing her to look up at her. Gumi gave an encouraging smile.

"Don't be sad. Did you watch over the others, like I asked?"

"I did," Miki responded. Gumi smiled, ruffling her hair.

"You're doing great, then. I'll tell you all about it soon, I promise. Okay?"

"…Okay!" Miki nodded enthusiastically, rushing off to find her teacher and her companions some food.

Gumi gazed after the young redhead fondly. At first, when Queen Lily had assigned her a page, she had despaired, not knowing how to handle such a ball of energy. Gradually, though, Miki and Gumi became more than teacher and student; being only about five years older than her, Gumi's memories of her own apprenticeship were fresh in her mind, and she sympathized with the young woman, leading them to become good friends.

Gumi was proud of Miki; she'd come far in the two years she'd been apprenticed to the green-haired knight; her skill with a blade was far above any of the other pages, and she was often able to make important decisions in Gumi's stead when the knight in question was elsewhere, not to mention she no longer sparred with her fellow pages, instead being asked by the knights if she wanted to practice with them. The girl really was a constant source of amazement and pride for her; in another year, she'd be seventeen, ready to be knighted herself.

Soon after, Gumi was sitting around a fire with Miku, Luka, Kaito, Meiko, and two of the other knights, Gakupo and Aria. Miki stood readily nearby, waiting for Gumi's next orders.

"You want us to believe that these two are the fabled generals of Luna and Sol? Two amnesiacs you found in a temple that don't even know what they were doing there?" Gakupo asked doubtfully, his gaze drifting back and forth between Luka and Miku.

"Ask bluehead here." Gumi pointed her thumb at Kaito, who sighed deeply.

"Hey, I'm not sure if it's true, all right? It's just what the writing said."

"How the hell do you even know how to read Soluscript?" Meiko questioned, producing a bottle of sake from seemingly nowhere and beginning to drink.

"I was taught by my father as a child," Kaito explained. "Can we move on?"

"In any case," Aria, who was soft-spoken (when she actually spoke; it wasn't often), began. "We should help them."

"Aria-san is right," Gumi agreed. "They need to learn what it's like to live in our time."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, followed by a small object whistling past Gumi's ear, and Miku was pointing her metal-tube weapon slightly to the left of Gumi's head, a rather annoyed look on her face as her weapon smoked.

"Don't talk about us like we're not here. Next time, I won't miss."

"What the… what in God's name is that thing?!" Gakupo shouted, as they all recoiled from the noisy weapon.

Miku tilted her head, holding her weapon over her shoulder, next to her head so it pointed upwards, confused. "What, this? My revolver?"

"A revol-? What?" The purple-haired man slowly lowered his hands, which he had thrown in front of himself to protect himself.

"You don't know what a revolver is?" Miku asked, a smile slowly beginning to creep across her face.

"Let's say we don't." Gumi leaned forward, curious. "What is it?"

"It's a type of weapon. It shoots things called bullets that can kill a person."

"Liar," Meiko scoffed. "There's no way something so small could kill a grown person."

"Well, not with the first shot, at least," Miku agreed. "Unless you shoot them in the head." Her keen eyes suddenly spotted a deer at the edge of the camp. "For example,"

BANG-click-BANG-click-BANG.

The deer fell over, dead, blood spilling out of its side. The knights gaped at the tealette, who was pointing the smoking revolver at where the deer had been standing.

There was a long silence, before Gumi spoke up.

"Miki-chan," she called. The redhead stepped forward.

"Report back to the castle and request that Masuda-sama's best engineers begin studying this weapon as soon as possible. Hatsune-san, do you have another one of these 'revolvers?'"

"Um, maybe…" Miku reached into a rather large pouch strapped at her hip, fishing around in it for a little bit before pulling out another revolver and a sack of bullets. "You'll need these."

"Take these with you." Gumi took the offered items, handing them to Miki, who nodded, and took off to find her horse.

"How does it work?" Kaito inquired, interested.

Miku began to explain in detail how her weapon operated, demonstrating its use a few more times as well.

"I always found my sword more elegant and suited for the dance," Luka said suddenly, drawing her blade and twirling it around expertly a few times.

"Oh, please." Miku rolled her eyes. "Let's not forget who wounded who first."

"Twas my blade that pierced your heart first."

"No, it was my bullet in yours."

"In any case…" Luka leaned in, breathing heavily on Miku's lips. "We're free of such a… pointless thing now."

"It was not pointless. After all, it led us to each other, no?" Miku whispered.

"I supposed you are right." Luka placed a gentle, platonic kiss on the target of her affection's lips before drawing back.

They were greeted by the sight of everyone present staring at them.

"What?" Miku cocked her head to the side curiously. "Is something wrong?"

"Well…" Meiko rubbed her hands together earnestly. "…Our nation's religion isn't exactly… _accepting_ of homosexuality."

Seeing the familiar blank looks from the pair of women, she clarified; "Love between people of the same gender is considered wrong."

Luka's eyes narrowed. "And who are you to judge what is and is not wrong? That right has always been reserved for the gods, last I heard."

"About that…" Gumi coughed, drawing their attention. "We don't… we don't believe in separate gods anymore. We're taught that the world is ruled by a single God."

"What a strange concept," Miku remarked. "One being, to wield all power? There is hardly room for a balance in power with such a belief."

"Be careful of what you say," Gakupo warned. "Under any normal circumstances, you two could be arrested for heresy."

Before they could say anything further, they were faced by both Luka and Miku pointing their weapons at them.

"Our love is not wrong," Miku stated firmly. "Love is love, regardless of what gender one is. It makes no difference."

"We shall not be told to disguise or hide our love just for the sake of some strange new religion," Luka continued. "We would rather die."

XxxX

"You found them in the temple?" Queen Lily looked between Gumi, the other knights, and the two women that were supposedly the generals of Luna and Sol (who were also the only people standing in the room), raising an eyebrow.

Gumi nodded, not standing from her kneeling position. "Yes, Masuda-sama."

"Oh, for the love of god, all of you, _stand up._ And Gumi, _how many times_ do I have to tell you to call me Lily?" Lily made an annoyed sound, standing from her throne as the knights stood as well.

"My apologies, Masu- Lily-sama," Gumi corrected herself, having fought this battle many times and knowing it was better to simply comply with the Queen's wishes. The blonde gave an irritated sigh at the honorific attached to her name, but let the green-haired woman be. There were more important matters to attend to.

Approaching the two supposed "Generals," she looked them up and down. After a long silence, she spoke again, in a serious tone.

"Hatsune-san, Megurine-san, there are many things I wish to know about your world and even more that I wish to tell you about ours. However, at the moment, I have one thing to ask of you. My Knights tell me that you two are in love. Is this true?"

Luka and Miku glanced at each other, and Miku instinctively grabbed Luka's hand and moved a bit closer to her. Luka then spoke in a calm but resoundingly firm voice.

"It is."

Lily sighed again, passing a hand over her face. "Then I am afraid I must ask you to leave the country of Crypton for now. I know that the God above loves all His children, regardless of who they are and how they act or think, but many of the people of this country do not. They would see you in the stocks, or tortured, or beaten, or hanged because you are different. I am asking you to leave not only for the good of Crypton, but for your own safety. I do not much relish the thought of the weight of the deaths of two innocents on my conscience. You may stay in the castle tonight, but tomorrow morning, two of the Knights' apprentices will see you to the border of Crypton and our neighbor to the east, Yura. The people there are very kind and accepting of all. I am sure you will have no problems expressing your love there."

Miku, angered at the fact that they were being told to leave, opened her mouth to argue, but Luka spoke before she could.

"Miku," she said, "Queen Masuda is expressing as much kindness and understanding as is possible in this situation, and has genuine concern for our well-being. We can ask nothing more of her than that which she is already doing, as that would be rude and inconsiderate of her kindness."

"But Luka!" Cried the teal-haired woman. "Was it not you who declared, 'we shall not be told to hide or disguise our love for the sake of some new religion?' How can you react so calmly when this woman is attempting to make us do exactly so?"

"She is attempting to do neither, my love," Luka soothed. "As she has not forbidden us from expressing our love while here, nor has she told us to disguise it. We are simply being told that it would be to our benefit if we went elsewhere to express it. Her words were advisory, not commanding. She desires only to see us safely to somewhere we can live without persecution."

"But even so, I cannot..." Miku was stopped by a gentle finger pressing against her lips, shushing her. She pouted at her lover, but offered no further objections.

"Thank you for understanding, Megurine-san, Hatsune-san," Lily bowed slightly. "If you would excuse me, I have to meet with the court. I bid you farewell, and best wishes on your journey."

With that, the Queen of Crypton swept out of the room, leaving Miku, Luka, and the Knights standing in silence.

"Well," Gakupo said at last, clearing his throat. "I guess we'd better show you where you'll be staying. If you'd follow me."

He started out of the hall, and, with one last glance back at the now-empty throne, Miku and Luka followed, and Luka whispered a quiet, inaudible _thank you_ to the gods for their favor on them, praying that their good luck held.

If their life would be as hard as she presumed, they would need it.


End file.
